Jared Burge, CPA, is a Tax Manager specializing in tax planning and preparation for businesses and individuals.

Do you want your Economic Impact Payment direct deposited? Additional steps are required if you owed tax with your most recently filed return.

Starting the week of Monday, April 13, 2020, individuals began receiving the first of the Economic Impact Payments that are due as a result of the CARES Act. These payments are being direct deposited into the bank accounts of taxpayers who utilized direct deposit on their most recent income tax return. For taxpayers that have already filed their 2019 return, the 2019 direct deposit information is being used. If no 2019 return has been filed, the IRS is using the information from the 2018 return.

Unfortunately, this could lead to confusion for taxpayers who owed tax with their most recently filed income tax return. Even if taxpayers provided the IRS with bank account information for electronic funds withdrawal, the IRS will not automatically use that account information for purposes of the Economic Impact Payments. As such, these taxpayers will either need to provide direct deposit information to the IRS, or wait for a paper check. This is true even for taxpayers who used direct deposit to receive a refund on their 2018 return, but then owed tax when they filed their 2019 tax return.

Those who owed tax with their most recently filed tax return, but who want to receive their Economic Impact Payment as soon as possible should provide the IRS with direct deposit information immediately. Taxpayers can check on the status of their Economic Impact Payments, and provide the IRS with direct deposit information, by utilizing the Get My Payment tool at https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment.